Obesity is the result of one of two main reasons, mental and/or medical. There are medical reasons that people seem to pack on the pounds easily. There are also mental aspects as well. It is easy to list the medical reasons that someone can be obese, but a bit more complex listing the mental reasons.
This paper will explore both, and list ways in helping someone who may be suffering from either one (or both) of the reasons listed.
Epidemiology of obesity has shown that it is a bit more complex than just saying someone is obese. There are many factors that come into play when talking about obesity. Factors such as:
- Demographic-age, gender, and ethnicity
- Socio-cultural – educational level, economic status, and marital status
- Biological – parity and family history
- Behavioral – dietary habits, smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity and lifestyle. (Aditya, 2011, p.10).
It is interesting to note that previously, many years ago, obesity was a sign of affluence. Those times have greatly changed. Obesity is now seen more in lower social-economic levels (Aditya, 2011, p.10). This swing in trend can be attributed to the fact that processed foods are cheaper than whole, natural foods.
So, thus the processed foods containing harmful chemicals that can alter the body’s internal operations is more readily available and easy to obtain for those that do not have a higher income level. There was a very descriptive study done in 2010 in which the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) published the findings.
It showed that gender did play a huge role in that the obesity levels of men were opposite that of women when it came to education and income levels. With that being said, to blindly state that socio-cultural levels cause obesity is narrowed thinking. There are far more complex issues to take into consideration.
It has been shown that individuals may develop cravings for certain foods due to certain emotions they are experiencing. If a person does not get assistance in dealing with their emotions they may continue to self-medicate with food.
Increased food intake beyond what their energy requirements dictate will lead to obesity. Why do people have such cravings? Again, when dealing with the mental aspect of an individual it is far more complex of an issue than one could simply answer. Why would Client A crave Oreo cookies when she is depressed while Client B craves mashed potatoes? We could look at this issue in many ways.
Client A could be seeking Oreo cookies when she is depressed because of the sugar content in them. Sugary foods alter our blood glucose levels (Hatfield, 2013, CD2). This spike can give one a “high” or elevated experience of euphoria.
It is a brief feeling of euphoria because those blood glucose levels will in fact go back down leaving Client A feeling depressed again. Client A will then look for that “high” by consuming more sugary foods, those sugary foods that Client A has found to give her that “high” she so desperately craves. This will lead Client A increasing her intake of sugary foods to an unhealthy level which translates into obesity. If Client A does not get help in dealing with her depression she will continue this vicious cycle.
In regards to Client B seeking mashed potatoes when she is depressed – this could be attributed to a neurological pathway. What I mean by that is that a person will simulate certain foods with certain feelings. So, if client B had a very comforting memory engraved in her subconscious that correlated to eating mashed potatoes, then whenever she wanted to feel like that again she would instinctively go for the mashed potatoes.
By eating the mashed potatoes she will be mentally going to her “happy place”. This is known as an interceptive or visceral modality (Craig, 2002, p.655). Her dopamine levels will increase making her feel good. We instinctively want to be happy and go for the things that make us happy. Studies have shown that individuals experience a dopamine spike just before they engage in a certain activity, such as the case with Client B turning to mashed potatoes.
Dopamine is a very powerful primal chemical that is the “feel good” drug that leads to addictions (Mahan, 2012, p.466). Our will power is not as primal as this body operated cycle of addiction. So, if Client B, or anyone for that matter, has certain food items in their house – the chance that they could survive on pure willpower alone is a pipe dream.
Our bodies’ natural reactions are far more powerful than mere willpower, and have been proven through simple scientific studies conducted by an educational show,Brain Games (2014).
Both instances listed for Client A and Client B could be helped through various avenues of counseling and altering their environments. This can be helped but only with the willingness from the individuals, as well as their understanding of their triggers.
References
Aditya, B. & Wilding, J. (2011). Obesity: an atlas of investigation and management. Clinical Publishing
Brain Games. (2014). Addictions. Retrieved fromhttp://braingames.nationalgeographic.com/episode/12/
CDC. (2010). Obesity and socioeconomic status in adults: United States, 2005-2008. NCHS Data Brief, 50. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db50.pdf
Gastelu, D. & Hatfield, F. (2013). Sports nutrition, 3rd. Carpinteria, CA: ISSA.
Hatfield, F. (2013). Sports nutrition CD 2. Carpinteria, CA: ISSA.
King, K. & Klawitter, B. (2007). Nutrition therapy advanced counseling skills, 3rd ed. Baltimore, MD: Lippincott Williams &Wilkins
Mahan, K., Escott, S. & Raymond, J. (2012). Krause’s food and the nutrition care process, 13th ed. St. Louis, MO: Elsevier.
Karen Linden MorningCoach.com
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